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Pick Pocket
This skill allows characters to steal people's personal possessions, success being determined by a Pick Pocket test. This skill can be acquired more than once, in the same way as the Pick Lock skill, giving the character a +10% modifier to the test for each additional time the skill is obtained. Characters with Pick Pocket skill can attempt to quietly remove items from a sleeping Ogre or fellow adventurer without being noticed. Test against characters' Dex. A successful test indicates that they have picked the pocket unnoticed and have obtained 1+D3 items, at random, from the person's personal belongings - it is left to the GM to decide whether an item is a purse, a loose coin, a handkerchief, or whatever. A failed test indicates that the character has not managed to take anything. Failure by 20% or more indicates that the character has been noticed and failure by 40% or more indicates that the victim notices the pickpocket and catches him by surprise. Characters with Pick Pocket skill can earn money between adventures. Test against Dex once per day: a successful test indicates goods or cash to the value of D10+1 Gold Crowns have been obtained. A failed test indicates that the character has failed to obtain anything and has spent the whole day being chased and assaulted; failure by 40% or more indicates that the authorities have actually caught the character. Characters who spend long periods picking pockets suffer a cumulative penalty of 10%. Thus, the test is made at -10% on the second day, -20% on the third, and so on. A charcter without Pick Pocket skill may try to pick pockets, but suffers a penalty of -30% on all Pick Pocket tests. Optional Rules Detecting Pickpockets According to the above rules, a thief has the same chance of picking the pockets of a drunken ogre and a master assassin of Tilea. Quite apart from the consequences should they get caught, it seems unfair that their success should depend only on their dice roll and not on the skills of their victim. This optional rule allows the victim's own alertness, as represented by their I score, to play a part and can be used whether PCs are picking or being picked. The Dex test for Pick Pocket is made as usual. If it is successful, the pickpocket has taken something from his victim; if not, he hasn't. Next, we need to know if the victim noticed - this is where the rule changes. As the pickpocket makes his Dex test, the victim makes an I''' test. Under some circumstances you may prefer to make this test secretly, so as not to alert the player. Once you have the result of both tests, look at the cart below. The victim is allowed several modifiers according to the circumstances. Obviously it is harder to rob a master thief in his own home than an unsuspecting farmer at a crowded fair. In addition to the basic modifiers, there are various tricks that pickpockets can use in order to avoid detection. Basic Modifiers: The following modifiers apply to all '''I tests made by a pickpocket's victim. They are cumulative, subject to the GM's discretion and common sense. For example, a sleeping victim cannot be on the alert for pickpockets. The test is also modified by twice the Encumbrance of the item stolen: the heavier the purse, the more likely its owner will notice its weight being 'lifted'. In the case of containers like purses or bags, of course, the Encumbrance value of any contents should be included. It Takes A Thief: A character who has followed one or more Rogue careers is allowed an Int test to recognise the build-up to a pocket-picking attempt and be alerted by it. If the Int test is successful, the character automatically gains the +10 I''' bonus for being alert. The following descriptions give a few of the different tricks used by pickpockets to distract their victims. All modify the victim's '''I test. Numerous other dodges exist and can be used to add colour to an encounter with pickpockets. Bumping: This is the simplest trick. The pickpocket approaches the victim, usually in a crowd, jostles them, and makes a pocket-picking attempt at the same time. The distraction allows the pickpocket to escape into the crowd or pass the stolen goods to an accomplice before the victim realises what has happened. This gives the victim a -5 penalty to I''' tests to detect the pocket-picking attempt. Dogging: Many slum residents keep large, powerful, and aggressive dogs and, as well as defending their masters and their homes, they are used in the practice of 'dogging'. As a character is walking down a street, a dog (treated as a war dog) slips its leash a few yards away and flies straight at him, barking furiously and ignoring the shouts of its owner. As the dog leaps on him, the character must make a successful '''I test to avoid being knocked down. Allow one round of combat before the owner drags the dog off and bystanders come to the character's assistance: picking him up, dusting him down - and picking his pockets, of course. This method gives the victim a -5 penalty to notice any pocket-picking attempt, increased to -10 if the character was knocked down and -15 if he was wounded. Domestic Disputes: This is a variation on the same idea. A loud argument is heard from a building or alleyway and a woman runs out, colliding with the (invariably male) victim. She is pursued by a large and brutal-looking man, intent on beating her. Clinging to the victim, she begs for protection and, before he can respond, the man attacks. The victim can try to defend, but at a -20 modifier owing to the screaming woman clinging to him. She makes a pocket-picking attempt each round and the victim has a -20 I''' penalty to detect it because he's being attacked. The incident can end in several ways. If the victim is getting the worst of the fight, the woman will eventually detach herself and pull the man off. Bystanders will help the victim to his feet (and prevent him pursuing his attacker) and may make more pocket-picking attempts, which the victim has a -10 penalty to detect. If the victim turns the tables on his attacker, the woman will get between them until bystanders can restrain the victim and the two can make their escape. Again, the bystanders may make additional pocket-picking attempts, even if they are not actually in league with the couple. Working The Crowd: In a busy city street, any number of things can draw a crowd of onlookers. Buskers entertain, agitators harangue, charlatans pitch dubious goods, and the class of beggars known as loons can also draw a crowd with a particularly spectacular outburst of feigned madness. And where there's a crowd, there is an opportunity to pick pockets. The more compelling the performance is, the less likely an onlooker will be to notice a pocket-picking attempt. The source of the distraction must make a Busk test (in these circumstances, the Agitator's and Charlatan's Public Speaking skill qualifies them to make a Busk test instead of a Bluff test) and the result of the test indicates how well the performance captures the audience's attention and, therefore, how much of a distraction it provides for the pickpocket. This results in a modifier to the victim's '''I test to detect the pocket-picking attempt, as follows: Targeting When a pocket-picking attempt is made, the pickpocket should be trying to take something specific. This might be something that is clearly visible, such as a belt-pouch or a pendant, or it might be something less clear, such as the contents of a pocket or the source of a bulge in a jerkin. The pickpocket should specify the target before the attempt is made. Obviously, a pickpocket cannot attempt to steal something of which he is unaware. Some things are harder to get than others. For example, it's harder to get a ring off someone's finger without being noticed than it is to cut a purse free of a belt and it's easier to take a purse from a belt than from inside a doublet. There may be a telltale bulge over the heart that lets you know a purse is there, but it may not be reachable. To reflect this, the GM must modify the pickpocket's Dex test according to what he's trying to steal. There are so many possibilities that it would be futile to list them all, but, using your GM's judgment, you should be able to come up with an appropriate modifier from these examples. Category:Rules Category:Skills Category:Tests